Sunday lineup; also, remembering Cheryl Polakowski

The A’s are loading up with right-handed hitters today – five of them and switch hitters Landon Powell and Cliff Pennington – against lefty Joe Saunders. Adam Kennedy, who had three hits and a walk last night and who is hitting .382 this month, couldn’t even crack this lineup: Davis CF, Barton 1B, Ellis 2B, Garciaparra DH, Crosby 3B, Carson RF, Powell C, Patterson LF, Pennington SS.

Manager Bob Geren acknowledged this morning that it’s less and less likely that Scott Hairston (hip, SI joint, quad) will play in the final week of the season “without drastic improvement.”

As many of you know, the A’s lost an important part of their minor-league operations earlier this month, administrative assistant Cheryl Polakowski. Fans who attend spring training at the team’s Papago Park complex in Phoenix will know Cheryl as the person with the rosters in the front office – friendly, helpful, ultra-efficient and tireless.

Cheryl, 47, died Sept. 19 after battling pancreatic cancer for several months. She had sought experimental treatment in Mexico, which was expensive and not covered by medical insurance, and along with her husband, Ted, who is the A’s director of minor-league operations, she leaves behind four children, Kimberly (20), Matthew (11), Krysta (10)and Michael (7).

The kids are as much a fixture at spring training as Ted and Cheryl, and the family had requested that in lieu of flowers, donations go to their trust fund. I am providing that information here for anyone who wishes to help: The Polakowski Children’s Trust Fund, c/o Somerset Savings Bank, Attn: A. Cuzzolino, Branch Manager,

PO Box 220, Bound Brook, NJ 08805.

Cheryl will be deeply missed by everyone associated with the A’s, and I know that next spring will be hard for all because she was such a major presence there, a smiling face who always brightened up the day.